Air resistance provides a formidable barrier to objects moving at high rates of speed. There have been numerous efforts to minimize the effects of moving air over and around a cylindrical body. It is not only the air that must be pushed aside in order for the body of a cylindrical object to move freely through the air, but air resistance and drag may also be caused by turbulence against the outer skin of a cylindrical body, which diminishes aerodynamic design benefits. When considering the reduction of drag on a cylindrical object, the shape and configuration of the foremost section of a moving object, generally referred to as the nose cone, is an important aspect to minimizing the resistance of the air against the outer surface of the moving object.
It is common for airplanes that fly at subsonic speeds to have bulbous nose cones, which affect the air moving around it, so that it provides the least turbulence against the body of the plane. Supersonic bodies may present a more pointed nose cone, as the dynamics of airflow change from the subsonic to the supersonic speed. In both cases, the nose cone is the surface that contacts the air initially, and causes it to move in the most optimal manner around the following body.
Allowing a smooth air airflow around a surface area is well-recognized as a means to reduce drag. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,807 (Foreman et al.), the injection of an airflow in the bent portion of an s-shaped air intake allows the airflow to be uniform and minimizes pressure drops within the air intake duct. This is a result of the circulating effect of air between the airflow and the inner walls of the duct, where the injected air actually provides a cushion between the high rate of flowing air and the duct wall.
High speed projectile technology for items moving through water have encompassed the idea that the shape of the nose may be done in a manner so as to provide a cavitation bubble around the body of the projectile so as to reduce hydro-dynamic drag. This is example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,698 (Harkins et al.). The shape of the nose cone in this invention is to provide a shaped insert that protrudes outward and forward of the projectile.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,357 (Bains et al.) And U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,648 (Morenus et al.) examples an attempt to take advantage of the air moving around a high-speed object for purposes of guidance. In this invention, an air inlet is provided in the nose of a missile, where the air moving through the air inlet is directed to a specific outlet port that assists in guiding the missile.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,558 (Travor et al.) examples the type of efforts to use an air intake having an inlet port and outlet ports where onrushing air is allowed to move through the nose down in such a manner that will provided a laminar boundary area of air between the body of the object and the air it is moving through. This cuts down on overall resistance. The ports themselves allow air to be projected rearward along the sides of the object, and attempt to provide a secondary cushion of air between the atmosphere and the skin of the object.
While prior art has attempted to use air inlets defined by the nose cone to reduce overall resistance, such an air inlet has had a flow-through air outlet. The present invention does not use a separate air outlet, but uses the shape of the cavity to create a central high pressure area that projects outward from the opening of the nose cone cavity, so as to create a pressure spike that directs oncoming air around the body.
Prior art does not teach the use of a pressure spike to direct oncoming air flow, nor does it teach multiple chambers, which may be used to encourage rapid creation of the pressure spike within the largest or primary chamber. This also prevents the pressure spike from rapidly dissipating during movement through the air. The cavities defined in this invention are also useful with regard to movement through air, as well as through water, since a cavity chamber can provide a water pressure spike that allows the water in front of the nose of the object moving through the water more easily as the spike causes a cavitation bubble and stationary water is able to be directed around the body of the object.